For Taco Bell, the stakes are huge. With annual sales pushing $7 billion, Taco Bell ranks as the nation's sixth-largest fast-food company, according to the 2009 findings from the research firm Technomic. During the depths of the recession, the chain made sales and image strides by rolling out a value menu that ranked among the lowest-priced in the industry, and followed up with an industry-first $2 Meal Deal.

But the chain is no stranger to controversy. Back in 2006, an E.coli outbreak at Taco Bells sickened dozens of people in six states. Then, in early 2007, a videotape of rats running rampant at a Taco Bell/KFC in New York City went viral. It took Taco Bell months to recover from this one-two image punch.

And now this. A class action lawsuit was filed last week claiming that Taco Bell falsely advertised its products as "beef." The suit alleges its tacos and burritos contain binders and extenders. In response, Taco Bell ran ads in national newspapers on Friday claiming its tacos are made with 88% USDA inspected beef — not 35%, as alleged.

But the attorney who filed the lawsuit, W. Daniel Miles III of Montgomery, Ala., declined to talk on Friday. Instead, his law firm released a statement that insisted the facts in the lawsuit are correct. "We will try this lawsuit in the Federal Court in California, not in the press," the statement said.

Name: Greg Creed

Title: Taco Bell president

CREDIT: Taco Bell via AP

PR gurus say Taco Bell should:

• Use social media better. "They're not having a two-way conversation," says PR consultant KD Paine. "Mr. Creed should be out there on Facebook and Twitter having a dialogue."

• Go into more details. Taco Bell should more fully explain what the other 12% of its taco meat is made with, says Paine

• Do nothing more. Taco Bell's newspaper ad and digital response were so convincing that the chain should do nothing else, says Marcia Horowitz, crisis communications chief at the PR firm Rubenstein Associates. "They should move on now and go back to the business of promoting new products."

The Alabama law firm Beasley Allen Crow Methvin Portis & Miles said it had the product tested and found it contained less than 35% beef. The firm would not say who tested the meat or give any other specifics of the analysis.

Taco Bell says its seasoned beef contains 88% USDA-inspected beef and the rest is water, spices and a mixture of oats, starch and other ingredients that contribute to the "quality of its product." The company said it uses no extenders.

The lawsuit doesn't specify monetary damages but asks the court to order Taco Bell to stop marketing it under its current terms.

Contributing: Associated Press

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